Manufacturing reliance on China deepens: GTRI

THE RECORD TRADE deficit with China of $112.16 billion in 2025-26, driven by 16% increase in imports over an already large base is due to further deepening of dependence on the northern neighbour for key industrial inputs with accompanying risks that need to be addressed urgently, according to a report.

- FE BUREAU

Imports from China were $131.63 billion last financial year, 98.5% of which were industrial products. While China represents about 16% of India’s total imports, its dominance is far more pronounced in industrial goods, where it supplies 30.8% of India’s needs, according to the report by Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI).

The concentration within sectors is even sharper. About 66% of India’s imports from China —valued at $82.6 billion— are clustered in electronics, machinery, computers, and organic chemicals.